Anastrazole, weight gain and very slow weight loss

Hi Cloudier

I am on exemastane and will be for life and I  find it hard to lose weight so would be interested to hear if anyone has any tips like you said.

Lee

Hi, I had to come off Anastrozole after 2 years as the negative impact was simply too much. 
hot flushes, night sweats, lack of sleep, joint pains, weight gain and overall a very low mood was not an option for 5 years. 
Due to early detection, successful surgeries, radiotherapy and 2 years of hormone treatment the overall view of the oncologist was that I would be better of without Anastrozole.

since December I have lost all the gained weight and then some. I can now exercise without pain, sleep ant night and overall my outlook is a million times better.

Hi Norske, wow!! That’s really interesting. I have to stay on Anastrazole (I was prescribed it for ten years) but it’s good to know that things have improved for you. 

Hi, I was supposed to be on it for 5 years. My sister was on a similar type medication for 10 years but her cancer was different and she was only 38 when she was diagnosed so she stuck with it. It took her 1,5 years to get back to “pre cancer” weight.

You're doing great already—cutting sugar and adding veggies makes such a difference, even if the scale doesn’t show it right away. After starting hormone therapy, weight loss felt nearly impossible for me too. What helped was being super patient and tracking how I felt instead of just the numbers. I also came across https://asteralabs.org/—they offer lab-tested meds from Indian pharma companies, which gave me some peace of mind during my treatment phase.

Hi Cloudier , it’s a difficult one as I’ve seen quite a few threads over the years about weight gain while on hormone treatments. In my own case, the shock of the diagnosis actually initially made me lose weight - but this is my normal reaction to particular types of stress eg previous relationship break ups, bereavements. Work stress however used to make me reach for the biscuit tin! Since finishing ‘active’ treatment (and I’m on Anastrozole for 7 years, due to finish this December), I’ve put some weight back on but remain below my pre cancer weight which was within ‘recommended’ weight for my height, but near the top of the range. I’m now right in the middle. 
So what do I attribute my lack of extra weight gain to? I think it’s partly to do with a slightly obsessive wish to walk! During my 3 weeks radiotherapy, my daily walk (to help with fatigue) became my sanity saver. Then afterwards, when I developed breast lympheodema, I took up Nordic walking as it was recommended. That was nearly 6 years ago and I still do it, with a local group, twice a week. On other days I walk with a friend plus a short daily dog walk (she’s elderly). Plus on Friday mornings a ‘WeCan’ cancer rehabilitation exercise class, which I’ve done for over 3 years now. I joined a local gym to increase weight bearing exercise as I’ve got osteopenia, but I can’t claim to go very often. Overall though I am so much fitter than I was pre diagnosis. I’m lucky that I’m now retired which of course makes it all far easier. 
Food wise, I became quite paranoid about sugar so went sort of cold turkey re biscuits and cakes. I’m not so extreme now and do enjoy treats but it did seem to break what was a bit of a sugar addiction and I feel a lot better for it. Add that, having been veggie, I’m now mostly vegan and this restricts sugary possibilities even more which is really quite handy! 
The last thing to add is that I read a research study, posted here on this site, which reported that a group of breast cancer survivors, whose eating habits had been recorded as well as other stuff, showed a connection (not conclusively causal) between significantly lower rates of recurrence and a 13 hour ‘fast’ (not deliberate) overnight. So I have incorporated that into my daily routine. I have hot water first thing in the morning instead of my usual cup of tea (with soya milk hence calories) until I’ve reached the 13 hours. I really don’t find it hard and it may or may not do good but I can’t see that it could cause harm as it’s not a long ‘fast’. Obviously caution if anyone is diabetic or has other blood sugar issues. 
My point in relation to weight gain, is that I’m not tempted by evening snacks. I just drink water or hot drinks without calories after my evening meal. I found that tricky at first but am so used to it now that it’s become second nature. 
Long ramble, sorry! But I hope some of it may be useful. In the end though it may really just be down to each of us having our own individual metabolism, I’m no scientist. Maybe I’m just lucky that I don’t readily put on weight. I’ll just add that I do have a big breakfast! I feel that helps with not snacking during the morning. Although if I’m out walking and stop at a cafe I’ll happily have toast or a tea cake! Love to all, HFxx